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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. club — for dancing
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. spring — a coil
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. snap — to click
  9. content — the amount
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. rock — music
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. content — happy
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. club — for golf
  17. bark — to shout
  18. spring — of water
  19. club — a group
  20. dip — to sink
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. rock — a stone
  24. dip — a sauce

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com